security

This year's BaselWorld in Switzerland has become the stage for many companies, watch makers or otherwise, to reveal their own take on the idea of smart devices on your wrist. Some have completely jumped on the smartwatch bandwagon while other cautiously remain on the periphery, like the new Swiss Horological Smartwatch group and their MotionX activity tracker platform. Jeweler Bulgari is making yet another twist, calling its concept device not a smartwatch but an "intelligent watch", one that practically keeps a safety vault on your wrist instead.

At first, we thought the FREAK security vulnerability was isolated to Internet browsers. Then, it became clear that Windows OS is vulnerable to FREAK attacks. The latest news is that this problem is now able to affect smartphones and mobile devices through apps on Android and iOS. The FREAK vulnerability is a security backdoor created by an old Clinton administration era government policy which required all exported software and hardware to have weak encryption keys. Obviously their policy was passed without much foresight. FREAK attacks cripple HTTPS security, allowing for sensitive data like passwords and credit card information to be snatched by hackers savvy to the susceptibility.

Word of an interesting device that can certainly be put to work for nefarious deeds has turned up that makes it easy for someone else to bruteforce the screenlock passcode on iOS devices. The device is called the IP Box and is apparently being used in the phone repair market now. The IP Box is inexpensive at around £200 and connects directly to the USB connection of the iOS device.

Hackers have found their way into servers that contained medical information on subscribers to health insurance provider Premera Blue Cross. The health insurance company announced this week that it had been the victim of a cyberattack that could have exposed medical data and financial details on its subscribers. As many as 11 million people could be affected by the breach.

Ever since Apple introduced Touch ID in the iPhone 5s, the tech world has started, or re-started, to become obsessed with using our unique body features to implement security on our mobile devices. After all, fingerprints and irises are much more difficult to hack than alphanumeric passwords. Riding on that wave, Microsoft is announcing two new complementary security features coming in Windows 10. Windows Hello lets you use some body parts to greet and unlock your device while "Passport" can use that to authenticate you to apps and websites.

Security and privacy are becoming more and more important as we transmit much more than just words via email. Yahoo is developing two new technologies to protect your data and create security solutions. Soon, any sensitive data that you send using email, from business documents to personal information, can be kept secure using an advanced end-to-end (e2e) encryption plugin for Yahoo Mail. And, if you forget your password, Yahoo has come up with a new solution for that as well. Yahoo is calling their new password retrieval system On-demand passwords.

FUZ Design is making a big name for themselves on the back of small Bluetooth locks. At CES this year, we wen’t hands-on with the Noke padlock, FUZ's first crowdsourced campaign that blew up on Kickstarter. Now they’re back with the U-Lock, designed specifically for the bicyclist. Rather than fumble with cables and a padlock, U-Lock is a familiar, straightforward bike lock that also capitalizes on Noke’s technology found in their original padlock. And yes, it will work with Apple Watch.

Lenovo had a fish problem early this year, one that refused to die even when it was ignored. The Superfish adware fiasco left the world's biggest PC maker with mud on its face and an angry mob at its gates. While the scandal has seemingly died out, with Lenovo frantically moving to fix both the technical problems and PR fallout, not everyone is safe yet from the deadly fish. Now it's Microsoft's turn to give its users the weapon of knowledge to better arm themselves. Oh, and they are also providing an updated tool to remove Superfish.

Scout, the do-it-yourself home alarm system that has standalone connectivity, is now working with Nest. In a blog post, Scout says their system now works with Nest “to enable seamless access and control of your Nest device(s) within your Scout account.” Your Scout Alarm will now work with Nest’s Smoke + Carbon Monoxide detector, as well as Nest Learning Thermostat. Though the reasoning for grouping your thermostat and home security system together might not be immediately clear, Scout has outlined several ways it can be handy.

The NSA may be used to lurking in the shadows and quietly reading our emails, but the ACLU and Wikimedia Foundation aren't willing to let them stay that way, filing a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the government agency's actions. The suit, filed today in the US District Court for the District of Maryland, takes issue with NSA "upstream" surveillance which, it's argued, needlessly and intrusively gathers huge quantities of text-based messages sent and received by innocent people. That, the ACLU insists, is an infringement of both First and Fourth Amendment rights, among other things.